Allegory (‎allēgoría‎), Ancient Theories of

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Abstract

Allegory (allēgoría) in Greek is a philosophical and rhetorical method in the reading of literary, especially poetic, texts since the 6th c. BCE. This article discusses its various names, its development in relation to Greek cult, exegesis and philosophy, and its relationship to etymology and language theories.

The Greek word allēgoría was thought in antiquity to come from állaagoreúein ‘to say something else’ than what one really …